ECS clarifies transfer rules

With new changes to Enterprise’s admissions policies for out-of-district students also come AHSAA rules that Enterprise athletics will have to follow.

Previously, students that transferred into Enterprise from out of the city limits were eligible to play in athletics immediately because of agreements that allowed out-of-town students admission to EHS.

Now, students that are entering eighth grade or above and that live outside the Enterprise City Limits will have to pay tuition to attend Enterprise City Schools and, as a result of these changes, any students, in eighth grade or above, living outside of Enterprise’s city limits that transfer into EHS would have to sit out a year before being eligible to play any sport.

These rules do not apply to students that live on base at Fort Rucker, however.

Students that are entering seventh grade will also be eligible to play right away.

Also, this rule only affects those students that are transferring into Enterprise this year and beyond. Students that already have been attending EHS, or any other Enterprise city schools previously, are still eligible to play right away.

“This only matters to those students that are moving in this year,” Enterprise Superintendent Greg Faught said. “If a student already attends here then they’re fine. They don’t have to sit out a year.”

Faught said that ECS is attempting to make sure any parents and students that are looking to transfer into EHS this coming year know this rule.

“When they move, we’re making sure we let them know at that point,” Faught emphasized. “When people are moving here we want to make sure that they know if they live outside the city limits they’ll have to sit out a year.”

The AHSAA rule can be found in the official AHSAA Handbook, Section 12.

“A student that enrolls in one school and later transfers to, or enrolls in, another school shall not be eligible immediately to represent the latter school in any athletic contest,” the rule states.

AHSAA Director of Communications Ron Ingram said that if a school system allows kids from out-of-district, or has an agreement with an adjoining school zone, then students are eligible to play right away, but once that agreement ends the schools have to follow the AHSAA rule.

“Our rules are across the board for everybody,” Ingram said. “If they no longer have that agreement for those kids, living in those areas outside the city limits, they would have to sit out a year.”

Faught reiterated that this rule only affects new incoming transfers that will be in the eighth grade or above, and not incoming seventh graders (or below) at other Enterprise schools, students that already attend EHS or students that live on base at Fort Rucker.

New Brockton coach Justin Jones confirmed that students that live outside of the city limits of Enterprise and are transferring from Enterprise to New Brockton in this coming school year would be immediately eligible for athletics.

“If you live outside the city limits of Enterprise, on the Coffee County side, then you will be immediately eligible to play here,” Jones said. “We got confirmation on that last Thursday.”

Daleville coach Rob Armstrong said that he has yet to receive that confirmation for students that live in the Daleville school district and are transferring from Enterprise to Daleville this year.

“We hope to get confirmation on that in the next couple of weeks,” Armstrong said.